FutureWarden and Penna shorts
by IIPLUSLEII
Summary: Little scenes I've found myself writing. These are just for fun and my way of easing myself out of writer's block. Look at it as a "Let's see how I can torture Howl today..." sort of thing.
1. This is a hug

"HOWL!" The Future-Warden barked, poking his head into Penna's room. He looked around, a little confused at the not immediate and annoyed response he would have normally and was hoping to have received.

He stepped further inside, scowling at the mess of discarded vests and ties lying in a pile beside her bed.

"Tch... what a disgusting _slob_!" He nudged his foot into a loosened, pearly-white necktie, kicking it up in the air to catch it in his hand. His gap-toothed grin stretched across his face upon his success. However, his trick was not replied with the round of applause that echoed in his mind.

"_Ahem._" Penna cleared her throat roughly. She leaned against the frame of her bathroom door, skepticism written on her face. She arched an amused brow at him, her own smirk hiding faintly in the corner of her mouth. She had been attempting to fix that mess of a bun that wobbled on top of her head, with little progress by the look of it.

"You called, _sir_?" She pushed herself off, folding her arms tightly across her chest.

"There you are!" He leered at her, balling up the tie in his hands before throwing it on the ground.

"Why are you slacking off? You're supposed to be working." He matched her folded arms with his own annoyed posture, satisfied in his mind to point out her insubordination.

She rolled her eyes and halfheartedly saluted him, heaving a disgusted sigh. She made her way to the dimly lit desk. On it's surface sat her notebook, it's most recent blank pages now covered in scads of scribbled-down notes. She flashed a glare at him as she took her seat, pulling on her stool unnecessarily roughly, causing the legs to dig into the carpet.

"That's better-"

"Is that all you came here to do?" Penna interrupted him, grimacing over her shoulder. She began to twirl her pen in her fingers, trying to course her bitter mood into its form.

"I'm 'working' now, so you can leave."

"No." The Future-Warden replied flatly. He decided he would be gracious and let her snippy comment slide.

"I'm going to stand right here and watch you work, Howl." He nodded once, his brow furrowing into a stern gaze.

He knew very well how much his presence annoyed her. Hers wasn't much of a treat for him either in all honesty, and looking down at the mess of clothes only reminded him all the more of his growing hatred for her. Still, if even the slightest thing he did could annoy her, he would stop at nothing until she fired her rage at him. He enjoyed causing her to lose her temper.

Penna exhaled another distasteful breath.

"Of course you are..." She muttered, pursing her lips.

There was a moment of silence between them, broken only by the sound of her pen-strokes and the turning of pages. He could still sense her anguish, and that alone was enough to keep him entertained for the time being. Or so he thought.

"What are you doing?" He asked, peering over her shoulder. Her pen instantly stopped moving. Another wave of disgust hung in the air above her as she rolled her eyes again.

"I'm working." She snapped.

"Yes, I know but what are you writing?" He couldn't read her awful chicken-scratch handwriting, just another thing to chalk up on his imaginary board of things he hated about her.

Penna huffed, rubbing her tired eyes feverishly. "I'm _trying_ to come up with a new past for the next person you have me interrogate."

"Why?" He grinned inwardly. He was wearing her down. Soon he would be wringing his hands in glee at her furious response.

"Because it makes for an easier and quicker process."

"Why?"

"...Go away."

"Not until you tell me why."

She clenched her pen in her fist, so very tempted at that moment to stab him in his beady little eye.

"If I do, will you leave me alone?"

"No."

She inhaled deeply, fighting to keep as calm as possible. "It makes less of a headache for me."

"Ah, speaking of that you really need to start controlling those side-effects of that...freakish ability of yours," He straightened himself up, tucking his arms neatly behind his back. His satisfied grin plastered on each corner of his mouth.

"I'm tired of hearing about these constant 'headaches'." He leaned back over, resting his chin on her tensed shoulder.

She was about to respond with a quick tongue-lashing of how little he understood what actually happens to her after she interrogates someone, when his sudden, and quite frankly surprising gesture caused her to completely forget what she was about to say.

"Uh..." She turned her head toward him, utterly confused he'd allowed himself to get this close to her. Normally, he would only approach to threaten a strike across her face or to point a warning finger at her.

"Oh, don't mind me. I'm just going to continue watching."

"Um... stop?" She was dumbfounded. She could clearly see the intent in his eye, but she couldn't find the right words within herself to make her point more adamant.

"Nah. I have a much better view from here." His chin gently dug into her shoulder as he spoke.

She scoffed. "I just bet you do." She fired back instinctively.

She turned her attention back to her notes, her eyes shooting from the pages to the ever-growing smirk of her employer. She shook her head, trying to remember what it was she was going to write next.

The Future-Warden began to rock rhythmically to and from, bumping into the side of her head with his own.

Penna ground her teeth, using every bit of strength she could muster not to give him the response he was trying to pry out of her.

"I'm not bothering you am I?" He cooed. He chuckled, so very pleased to have found yet another thing to do that would slowly, but oh-so-surely put her into a fit.

Her ears twitched as she struggled with herself.

"N-Not at all." She responded with a forced-smile, one that faded almost as instantly as it appeared.

He was thoroughly enjoying watching her anger rise higher and higher. He grabbed each of her cheeks with his gloved fingers, pinching them tightly.

"You can't lie to me Howl." He mused, jiggling her cheeks up and down.

"Get. Off. Me." She replied lowly, shoving his hands off her. She gingerly rubbed her now sore face, attempting to set fire to him with her stare. She growled before returning her pen to the page.

He stepped back, unable to control his chuckling at how ridiculous he'd made her look. He swooped back in to replace his chin, this time on her other shoulder. He began to think of something else he might possibly be able to do to tempt out that welling fury he desired.

The idea that came to him however, wasn't something he was particularly fond of, but it was the only thing he was sure would set her off. And that was precisely what he was going for, even if it made his own stomach churn.

He brought his arms around her, tucking her tightly to him. He was able to mask his scowl with another grin.

"You're terrible at head-locking someone." Penna remarked dully, her eye beginning to twitch from his touch.

"This is not a head-lock, Howl. This is a hug. I'm hugging you."

"Well stop, you're going to make me vomit."

"Nope. You're going to work while I hug you."

"Seriously, stop."

"Not gonna happen." He squeezed tighter.

"You don't know where I've been."

"I don't care."

"I don't know where _you've_ been."

"Someplace fun. Doesn't matter, still hugging you."

"If you don't let go of me, I'm going to stab you."

"You'd really stab someone who's only trying to hug you? How heartless are you, Howl? I mean really..." He inched his face forward, his pouting lip sticking out in the far corner of her peripheral-vision.

She set her pen down gently. She refused to look at him as her mind tried to formulate a plan to get him to release her. She curled her lip, stifling the urge to hiss as she wrapped her own arms around his. She held a tight grasp to his sleeves.

"Wait, what are you doing?" He tried pulling back but her force kept him locked to her. He jerked roughly, trying to break free of her grip. She was a little stronger than he thought. No matter how he pulled away relentlessly, her firm clutch to his arms kept him in place.

"Relax Warden, it's just a hug. I'm hugging you." She replied, glancing over her shoulder to offer him a smirk.

[]_A/N: Inspired by a very dear friend of mine and her piece of gift-art. That was a hug. And this is me absolutely ruining any hope any of you had of me writing a decent fanfic... These are just for fun and aren't intended to be serious, but there is no redemption for how horribly out of character Future-Warden is here /commits hara kiri. _[]


	2. Try the Wine

"_Miss Howl,_" Jared spoke through the small collar button on Penna's vest. "_The Warden wants to see you right away._"

Penna groaned, having just found a moment to herself after a long and dreadful day, one that felt now more than ever would never end. She pinched the bridge of her nose, not wanting to respond.

"Is it that important?" She sighed, hoping Jared would hear the exhaustion in her voice.

There was a pause on his end.

"_Everything I tell you to do is important, Howl! My office! This minute!_" The irritated and harsh voice from the Future Warden screeched through the tiny speaker.

"_I believe that is your answer._" Jared replied after a moment of static shuffling.

"Argh, fine!" She shouted back into the tiny transmitter before quickly pressing the button that would mute further conversation.

She stormed her way to the Future Warden's office, preparing a nice little anger-fueled rant about how very unreasonable he was being. She pounded on the door furiously, muttering curses under her breath.

There was no answer. Bemused, she twisted the knob and to her surprise, instead of finding it locked as she expected, it turned without a fuss. Penna slowly opened the door, a faint glow shining within the darkened room.

She felt a little apprehensive to step inside; a sinking feeling beginning to tug away inside her stomach upon seeing a candle-lit table with two chairs set on opposite sides of each other.

"Warden?" She called quietly, quickly shaking herself into a more annoyed manner. This had to be some sort of joke.

"Alright I'm here! What the hell do you want now?" She shouted into the room, not having fully set down the foot that remained outside the door.

A sudden movement caught her attention. Jared approached her from the corner of the darkness, his expression was too difficult for Penna to read properly. She could tell he was concerned about something, and in all honesty she too had a swelling doubt about the situation she'd just found herself in, far too preoccupied with her own feelings to consider the reasoning behind his.

"Miss Howl," He spoke, extending his short hand to her. "If you'll follow me please."

She kept her arms tightly folded across her chest, for fear of what might happen if she took his hand. Jared, lacking the patience at the moment to deal with her anxious behavior, wasted no time in leading her to the chair closest to them.

"Have a seat, Howl." The voice of the Future Warden slithered out from the shadows.

He took slow, hard steps into the dim light, revealing his stern yet maniacal grin. As he gestured to the open seat, Penna felt herself being pulled down by the sleeve.

"Jared, what-" The sudden jingle of a handcuff caught her off guard as the tiny assistant bound her wrist to the rail of the chair.

"What the hell?" She pulled furiously on the small chain, trying to break free. The Future Warden's grin stretched even wider on the edges of his mouth as her struggled attempts proved useless.

"Relax Howl, this is just a precautionary measure. Wouldn't want you to _escape_, now _would we_?"

Penna glared at him, her wrist still yanking frantically on the handcuff.

"No, I _suppose not_." she hissed. The sound of Jared walking off broke her stare from her employer for just a moment. His form disappeared into the darkness as he went to fetch something. The light sound of clanging plates and trays could be heard.

The Future Warden pulled out two thin and intricately engraved wine glasses from under the table, and soon after a bottle to compliment them.

He silently placed the two glasses before each of them, judging Penna's every livid expression as he slowly uncorked the wine bottle

"Would you care for a drink, Howl?" he didn't wait for her answer as he poured her a glass before himself. The deep, crimson liquid was nearly impossible to see against the soft glow of the dripping candle that wavered in the dark.

Penna turned her head, trying to distract herself with the sound of Jared's tinkering.

"Let me go." she replied bluntly, her nose still turned up at him.

She had stopped pulling on the handcuff, something that caused the Future Warden's grin to slightly diminish. Though she found it had quickly returned from her request.

He put the his glass to his lips, taking a small sip.

"Not likely. Can't you see? There's nothing to be afraid of." He took another sip.

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one _strapped to a chair._" She gave a sharp tug on her wrist to emphasize her point.

The Future Warden attempted to hide his smirk with a frown, causing his face to contort into a frightening and conflicted expression. He chuckled deeply in his throat, his eyes grew wide with excitement as Jared approached with a silver-domed tray, it's fragrant scents wafting from underneath.

As Jared set the tray down, he offered Penna a sympathetic look. It wasn't that of sorrow, it conveyed a sense of amused guilt that he was involved with this cruel trick. In one swift motion the dome was lifted and two flowing plates piled high with a beautiful Italian spread revealed themselves.

Jared lifted one of the plates and began to hand it to the Future Warden.

"No, no Jared. _That_ one is for Howl." He gave her a light nod, his smirk tucked firmly, his dimples deepening by the second.

The plate was set before her, she used her free hand to nudge it away.

"I'm not hungry."

The Future Warden took another sip from his glass, keeping his lowered eyes on his food. He took a small fork-full of his helpings and placed it in his mouth, offering her a satisfied sound of delight as he chewed.

"Nonsense, nonsense. I'm no fool, I know very well how hard you've been working. You haven't had a bite all day, I'm certain you must be famished."

He took another mouthful, followed by another sip of his glass.

Penna eyed her plate. It was true she hadn't had the chance to find herself time to eat today, and though what was set in front of her was a vast improvement compared to what she was normally given; she could not muster up enough appetite to keep herself convinced she was hungry.

The Future Warden scowled in between bites.

"Where are your manners? I know you are a vile animal Howl, but you must at least possess _some_ etiquette to a degree. I mean look at this wonderful meal I've prepared for us. No gratitude at all..."

"Forgive my lack of appetite," She snarled, leaning herself forward. The rattling of her chain caused a soft clatter as she moved.

"I'm finding it a bit hard to eat under these condi-"

"I'll remove the handcuff if you eat something first."

She stared at him for a moment, weighing her options in her mind. She could just sit here and wait this out until he finished. But, he would most likely just leave her chained. The thought of being kept in his office, bound to a chair for the rest of her life amused her enough to let out a small chuckle.

She might as well go along with it. She picked up her fork, twirling it in her hand, clutching her fist around it for a moment as if to threaten gouging it into him from across the table. She took a deep, relaxing breath, scooping up a single noodle on the silver teeth. She placed it in her mouth after several moments of consideration, and swallowed only after several more.

"There. Now let me go."

"_Please_," he gestured to her plate, his brow furrowing from his rising irritability. "Humor me."

She grimaced, her lip curled in disgust as she dug her fork unnecessarily hard into the plate, bringing a rather large mouthful to her lips. She kept her eyes narrowed as she ate, only moving them away from his pleased expression once to have a drink.

That sinking feeling was tugging relentlessly on her insides now, protesting every bite she took with a stomached lurch. Soon she had cleared a decent portion of her plate, though she felt no more well about all this.

Penna jingled her cuff again. "Okay, now let me go."

"I will. Right after dessert. Wouldn't want you running off before you've had something sweet. Besides, you'd get a cramp if you took off now."

Having completely finished his plate, he motioned for Jared to take both of them away. He returned quickly with two small dishes of little cakes.

"I believe this is your favorite, is it not? What's it called...Tiramisu?"

"You know me _so well_." She heaved a disgusted chuckle, her teeth bared from her scowl.

"Are you going to make me beg you to eat this as well, Howl? I'm a _patient man_ but I can only tolerate so much _indecency_."

"Well, since you've asked so nicely," She glazed over the tiny cake, her instincts screaming for her not to eat another thing he placed in front of her.

She rolled her eyes before cutting it in half, it was small but not small enough to eat in one bite. She placed the first half in her mouth, quite surprised it tasted very much like she remembered.

"Now the other half." He goaded her, his hands absentmindedly wringing themselves as he watched.

She complied, finishing with a final sip of her wine.

"Very good. Now, I should let you know that the food you've just eaten was poisoned."

Penna dropped her fork. "_W-what?_"

"That's right. All of it. Even the cake." His grin stretched to just under his ears. He picked up his napkin, dabbing his mouth.

Her hands began to shake, she felt a surge of bile pleading to be released with every passing second. Poisoned? Of course he would pick such a slimy way to kill her.

"B-but..." She felt the only relief from her reasonably high stress at the moment were the oncoming tears she felt burning her eyes.

The Future Warden glowered at her breakdown in the making, completely satisfied with her speechlessness.

"But what? Did you have something to say?"

"_Oh there are several things I would like to say!_" She whimpered into her palms, the chain pulling tightly on her wrist.

"Why not get what's on your mind out now while you still have a minute?" He began to pick his teeth with a toothpick, his smirk still very apparent on his face.

"I...I _hate_ you so much." Penna began to sob, unable to hold back the threshold of emotions barging their way through her.

"I just wanted to be _free_...Why did you keep me here? Why did I have to go through this _hell_... You're a terrible man... You've _made_ me _kill people_... I was a good person until you showed up!"

"Uh-huh. And what else?"

"W-What else?" She lifted her head, her face blotched from her weeping. He smiled at this.

"Yes, what else have you got to tell me?"

She looked at him, confused as to what he meant. Was she supposed to continue on about how much she hated him until her blood ran cold?

"I d-don't..."

"Well then, allow me to inform you that it has been over a minute."

"The hell are you talking about?"

"It's been _over_ a minute Howl. Would you like some more wine?"

She looked at the glass, then to her plate. The jumping in her stomach, though quite vigorous, did not feel like a reaction to being poisoned. Shouldn't she be clutching her throat by now?

A light click sounded from her chair as Jared unlocked the handcuff. He backed away from her slow and easily, as if to prepare himself for what would happen next.

Penna rubbed her wrist, still trying to make sense of the Future Warden's riddle.

"I haven't been poisoned?"

He burst into laughter, tossing his head far back.

"N-no! Of course not you silly woman! Oh but how I _loved_ your response, you should have seen your face! Priceless! Absolutely _priceless_!" He slapped his knee a few times, giggling like the maniac he was.

"Then...All that was just..." She felt her apprehension morph into a sense of overpowering rage rather rapidly.

"Oh Howl, I must admit it took a lot of planning but I had no idea seeing a woman cry would be so _wonderfully_ delicious!"

She picked up her fork and tightly gripped it in her fist as the Future Warden continued to have his fit of laughter.

"I'm not sure releasing her yet was the best idea sir..." Jared whispered to his still chortling superior.

"Huh?" The Future Warden looked up at the enraged face of Penna, just another thing for him to go into a fit about.

"Oh... Stop it Howl! I can't take much more of this laughter!"

She gently set down the fork, using that would be too easy, she decided. She glanced over the table, spotting his untouched piece of cake.

As his head arched back in his endless hysteria, she slowly picked up the small sweet and moved it to the middle of her palm.

"Warden," She spoke lowly, barely above a whisper.

"Yes...?" He squealed, wiping away a tear from behind his glasses.

In one fell swoop her palm launched forward, plastering the tiny cake all over his giddy, gap-toothed grin. His once amber glasses were now cream color, thickened by a nice layer of cinnamon.

"H-Howl...?"

It took a good moment for him to register what had just happened. And by the time he could generate enough thought to make sense of his rage, Penna had bolted out the door, erupted in her own satisfied laughter.

[] _A/N: Don't worry! I haven't forgotten about YTHHL! I'm just...really struggling with these next three chapters. Part 19 should be up by early December at the latest. Anyway, this is actually just a written out version of my first idea of Penna's concept. And again, no excuse for Future's OOC-ness... but I did have a little fun writing this today. _[]


	3. This is fluff

"Evening," A light voice cheerily piped.

The Warden nodded a bit before lazily lifting his gaze from his menu. As he caught sight of who the voice belonged, he jumped back a bit in his seat.

A woman stood beside him, dressed in a clean white collared shirt covered by a black apron. Her light-brown hair flowed from a scrunchy that kept it loosely held, a pair of half-moon spectacles rested on the end of her nose. Those are what he recognized first.

"My name is Penna, and I will be your server. Do you need a few minutes still?"

At first he couldn't comprehend why he felt a start, but upon further examination of the bright, yet tired-looking hostess holding a leather-bound notebook filled with countless orders from the long day, he found it difficult to hide his immense surprise.

"P-Penna? What on earth are you doing here?"

The young woman looked the Warden over a bit, donning a confused expression.

"I... Work here? I'm sorry, do I know you?"

The Warden stammered a bit before forcing a chuckle. Of course, he reasoned with himself, she wouldn't remember him. He frantically searched for any sign of a name-tag or something he could use as reason for recognition. He tried to think of a plausible story and quick.

"Oh, well," He began, still stammering with his words. He suddenly realized he knew absolutely nothing about her that would have helped him in this situation.

"We bumped into each other a... A while back you see and- I didn't know you worked here."

"Huh," She replied, trying to recall the instance where she would have met this odd man before. She was fairly certain she would have remembered bumping into someone like him.

"Are you sure you don't have me confused with someone else? I've not been in the country long." She didn't look as though she wanted to press the issue. In fact the 'issue' seemed to be making her increasingly uncomfortable the longer it took for this guy to give her his order.

"Oh, yes. You're probably right." The Warden cleared his throat and turned his attention again to his menu. He wasn't absorbing anything he was reading, only making a dozen comparisons between this Penna, and the one who served as his future-self's Interrogator.

This woman standing aside him, waiting to take his order lacked the annoyed, foot-tapping nature of the Penna he had spent time with in his future. They both still had the same cheerfully-exhausted posture about themselves, though this one looked to be exercising the cheerful aspect of that mannerism a little more genuinely.

"So, where are you from originally?" He swallowed hard a little. He was starting to feel that same sense of regrettably-forced small-talk as he had that afternoon on the roof of SuperBase.

Penna looked around a bit, she then stole a quick glance at a small wristwatch before giving her answer. They we're beginning to get busy by the looks of it, those last few hours were always the most hectic, and on top of that she had two other tables that needed attending to.

"I was born in Matera, that's in Italy." Penna retorted hurriedly, though politely.

"Really? You don't have an accent though."

"Learned English from my mother, she was born here actually. Met my dad at the university, they moved back- Matera is where he was from- And... Yeah. Yes, I speak Italian too." She took another peek at her watch, trying to be as discrete as possible.

It wasn't often a purple-clad man came here to dine, by the looks of it, alone. She wasn't sure how right in his mind he was or if he was just one of 'those' types, maybe even a combination of both, one never really knew in this city.

"Interesting. Why did you move here then?" He inquired, offering her a similarly polite smile.

"Oh, well, mainly the university I suppose. There wasn't much of a life back there for me. Can I start you off with something to drink?"

Hurrying him along might not be the best decision, she argued with herself, but she couldn't just stand here while the queues were backing up and her other guests searching for someone to assist them. Besides that, the man looked to be a bit shifty for her liking. He probably wouldn't even tip, regardless of how well her service was. The faster she cleared him out of here the better.

The Warden sensed he was holding her up and took notice of her shifting about as more and more people entered the restaurant. He cleared his throat again, apologized for being so indecisive and relayed his order to her. In truth, he wasn't even that hungry, he felt a fluttering in his stomach that dully pestered him. And as she nodded, walking away with a promise to return shortly with his drink, he couldn't keep himself from wondering what would have happened if she had come with him that night.

He had only offered because the atmosphere at the time seemed to call for it, and her declination for a chance to, in her words 'escape' didn't sting his ego quite as much then as processing it over time had now.

Why shouldn't she want to come back with him? He had been nice enough to her, hadn't he?

Oh right, he thought, propping his chin up with the palm of his hand as his other lightly tapped along the cream-colored tablecloth surface; something about she being captured and tortured or whatnot.

After having that wonderful experience with his future-self, the Warden could safely say that he wanted no part of that prick and his ambitions.

Even then for the sake of argument, he began to ponder; what exactly did she go through? Did he perform the torture himself? No, no that couldn't be it. If he knew himself at all he was certain without a doubt that he'd never do something that would result in dirtying his own hands. Well, he could say that for himself, perhaps not his Future-self.

He remembered future-Jared mentioning something about the good Doctor freeing up cramped cells with experiments conducted on those captured.

_'She did it to save herself...'_ The Warden echoed Jared's words in his mind. He tried to imagine the scenario as best he could. The images that filled his mind were of the Doctor's lab, syringes, vials, wires and other lethal devices.

"But how would she...?" He contemplated aloud, propping his chin against his thumbs.

"There would have had to have been someone else there, I imagine." He concluded.

A light _'tink'_ brought him out of whatever trance he seemed to have found himself in. A tall water-filled glass, ice clattering to it's brim was set before him.

"There you go, your food should be out in a minute. Let me know if you need anything else." She had already turned to leave before the Warden had a chance to say anything.

Amidst the growing number of people that began to sit in twos and threes at the various tables, he was beginning to feel that flutter far more prominently now. His appetite was gone and drinking his cold water did little to ease his stomach.

He spotted her striding along the aisles, busily collecting empty glasses, plates and silverware from people occupying her tables. She disappeared behind a corner only to return a few minutes after with refilled refreshments.

This is what she did with her life? It looked so boring and monotonous, frittering from table to table, order after order. The very idea of this sort of work was not something the Warden could see anyone willingly perform. And she wanted to return to this! Granted, yes, he wouldn't have forced her to stay at SuperJail if she had gone back with him, but still, didn't she know he could have at the very least given her a head start at a decent and respectable lifestyle?

What was he thinking, he didn't owe her anything. Why should he feel so burnt up about something he normally wouldn't have given a toss about? Besides, she did look... Happier? Far less cynical and barely as moody that was for sure. For a moment he wondered if this was even the same Penna.

She had disappeared again, reappearing almost instantly with a tray that held his order. He had to remind himself that he had come here because he was hungry and being the gentleman that he was, he wasn't about to allow a random case of the jitters to dissuade him.

"Thank you, it looks lovely." He said lightly.

Penna nodded, asking if there was anything else he needed or wanted. He shook his head as his mouth was full and with that she took off yet again.

The Warden finished his meal rather slowly. She would come around every so often to check on him, only to be told he was just fine. He was watching the others around him, catching bits and pieces of conversation here and there. Not that he caught anything too important or relevant to his interests, still he found it amusing to observe how people carried on with their social ventures.

It wasn't long however until they started to leave in the same numbers as they had arrived. And to clean after their outing, those who had been serving them soon began strip the tables of their ornaments, placing each vial, bottle and packet of condiments into its own container before removing the cream-colored cloth in a single sweep.

The Warden glanced at his own watch, then to his empty plate. He looked around for Penna, spotting only her co-workers bustling about with their cleaning priorities.

"Are you finished sir? We're just about to close." A man only a few inches taller than himself asked, picking up the plate and glass.

"Oh," The Warden began as though he hadn't fully realized.

"Yes, yes. Sorry, my mind is elsewhere at the moment."

"S'alright, I'll bring you your bill. Do you remember who-"

"Penna, I think her name was. Just give her this with my thanks."

The Warden fumbled about in his coat pocket for a moment and pulled out a few folded bills surely amounting well over what his total would have been. He handed the money to the speechless waiter, tipped his hat and made his way to the door.

He waited outside a little further down the block, still keeping the view of the door to the restaurant, tapping his foot against the cemented pathway to give him something to do. He had his suspicions that women like Penna, the Penna he had known at least, wouldn't have accepted a gesture like that silently.

And he was right. The server had done no less than bolted through the weathered door, giving the Warden yet another start, her light-brown hair tossing to and fro as she searched for the purple-suited man.

"Hey! You forgot your change mister!" She didn't sound as though she were trying to help him from an honest mistake. She looked and sounded as though she knew very well he had acted out of pity.

Penna approached him slowly, but angrily. She was going to attempt to be professional about this, but she was also off the clock, thus able to give het honest opinion on the matter. She wasn't about to be a charity case for anyone, especially a well-dressed weirdo.

The Warden took off his hat and held it against his chest, as if it could provide some sort of protection from her attack to be.

"I didn't forget it, I felt you should have it."

"Uh-huh. Well, thank you sir, but I can't accept this, I'm sorry. Here, this is all that's left over from your bill." She held the folded currency at an arm's length away, to keep herself at a reasonable distance.

"No, no I insist. Please, take it."

"I can't do that sir. Here is your money, you take it."

He felt himself begin to smile, thoughts and flutters began to chirp along his mind and insides.

"It seems we are at a standstill. I'll take the money back if," He paused, holding up both his index fingers to silence her end of the dispute.

The idea that popped into his head wasn't one he would have normally gone with. However, the scenario that had also begun to play out in his mind as a result of following through with this silly idea was too interesting to let slip away.

"You let me walk you home. If not, you keep it and I'll be on my way."

She contemplated this deal of sorts in her mind for a few agonizing moments. Walk her home? What the hell was this all about? Was this his idea of flattery? She wasn't about to be made a spectacle of, that was for sure. Still, she wasn't exactly sure of what she should do.

"Is that a 'no' then?" The Warden asked with a light tune in his voice.

Penna stared at him for a few moments more. Just as the Warden had nodded and was about to make his leave she grabbed his hand and shoved the money into his palm.

"There's no need to walk me home, I live really close." She spoke adamantly.

"Humor me, please. I could use the fresh air anyway."

It was a good minute before she finally broke her suspicious stare.

"This is ridiculous." Penna sighed heavily, shaking her head as she turned around. She took a few hard steps away before glancing over her shoulder. An annoyed and expectant look seemed to have found it's place.

"_Well_? Are you coming or not?"

The Warden couldn't help but smile a little at this. He was beginning to feel like the Penna he knew had finally come around to greet him.

A few quick paces and soon the two walked in an understandably awkward unison down the cemented path. It was a good few moments before either of them said anything.

She had been first to break the silence, revealing to the Warden that there had been a discussion going on between the servers as to who he was and where he was from. The Warden simply chuckled a bit and played it off by excusing his attire on his insatiable need to look his absolute best. Penna, of course, remained skeptical but snickered along with him.

"So, Italy huh? Was it nice there?"

"I liked it. Wasn't nearly as noisy that's for sure." Penna said a little lightheartedly as she gazed around the corner she and her... Companion were turning.

"My mother died just under two years ago, up until then I was living with her, helping out with her business."

"Oh, I see. What about your father?"

"Him? Oh he left ages ago. I don't remember him much, so I guess it doesn't really matter." She didn't seem saddened to mention this and it puzzle the Warden, but only for a moment.

"I don't remember mine very well either, but what I do remember of him is that he was a very prestigious man. Why, my- place of business wouldn't be the magnanimous spectacle it is today if it weren't for him."

"Oh, well that's nice." She replied with a halfhearted smile.

"Do you have any family that lives here or are you on your own?"

"Well," She began with a slight sigh. "My uncle on my dad's side didn't exactly live here, but he owned quite a bit of stock in the restaurant. That's mostly why I've got the job there. If anything, my uncle was more of father than my actual father."

"Ah, I see. Where is he now, back in Italy?"

"No... He was kidnapped, I think. I'm not really sure. No one else seems to know what happened either. It happened at one of his races, so there were plenty of people around. I dunno, one minute he was there the next he was gone. This was pretty recent too, he hasn't been missing long."

The Warden felt a cold start suddenly. Images of the... late and formerly lithe driver, complete with ascot and accent he had 'hired' to be his ringer popped into his head. He had only spent a few hours the man, and though his _dead_ ringer had lost his splendidly _Grand_-Prix, he had held the racing enthusiast in a high respect.

"O-oh, uh... Really now? A race? You mean with cars? You don't stay? That's terrible!"

He hadn't really killed her uncle, had he? Please say he hadn't actually killed him. He groaned inwardly at the thought. And if this new information hadn't been so daunting, he would probably would have been intrigued by this chance connection.

"Yeah." She shrugged a little. "I haven't heard anything from the police in a while. His sons don't seem to be that worried, which bothers me a lot."

"What, eh... What was your uncle's name?"

"Franco. Have you heard of him?"

"I-I have. I've uh, seen him on the track. He's very good."

He'd actually killed him. Great.

"Let's talk about something else, okay? What about you? What exactly do you do at your 'place of business'?" She asked quickly, giving him a suspicious look once over.

"I run the place of course!" He had said that, shouted it rather, a little louder than he needed.

"There is no one in existence who can oversee it's magnificence as well as I can. I've spent a long time, many years perfecting it."

"Right. Okay. So you're what, in management?"

"Y-yes. We'll go with that."

He hadn't given her any concrete information that could help her figure out who he was, something that was both beginning to annoy and worry her a bit. She began to question whether letting him follow her had been a good idea.

Of course it hadn't been, she chastised herself. Was she insane? Of course you don't let a strange guy with an arrogantly-proportioned wad of cash walk you home. At night. When there are few people around.

She stuck her hand in her pocket and clutched her keys for good measure.

They continued their walk, turning around old, weathered buildings and expelling small-talk as easily as it could come between the two of them.

Suddenly, the Warden stopped and looked around.

"We're right back where we started."

"I told you I lived close by," Penna chimed. "Right above the restaurant."

"Then what was all that for?"

"You said you needed the air." Penna shrugged, sounding a little amused by the tone of her voice.

The Warden chuckled a bit nodded as though he had been caught.

"I did say that, you're right."

"Listen," Penna began, digging her keys out of her pocket.

"I'm sure you're very nice and all, and I really appreciate the gesture but I have to say I'm not really interested. Sorry."

The Warden raised a brow at first, then heaved another guilty chuckle.

"I understand, don't worry. That's not entirely why I'm here... I guess I'm just trying to apologize."

"Apologize? For what?"

"I'd rather not discuss it outside. I swear on my father's grave that I have no impure intentions and I will leave the second you ask me to."

Penna looked him over a few times, half confused, half in disbelief.

"I will answer every question you have to the best of my knowledge, inside."

He had argued only moments before that he didn't owe her anything. Still, he reasoned, he wasn't incapable of being generous.

She toyed with the jagged key in her fingers for a second or two, having yet another debate within herself. Just what was this guy up to? If she had ever wished there was a simple way to read a person's thoughts, now more than ever would she have found a good use for it.

Silently, she unlocked the stubborn door and gave it a hard shove open. She extended her arm into the narrow stairwell that appeared behind the chipped wood. The Warden removed his hat as he made his way past her, placing it back on his head to take the first step upstairs.

The sound of their tapping feet couldn't drown out the hundreds of questions racing through her mind. She tried to organize them as best she was able to, hoping to get this over with as soon as possible.

One more door to unlock, this one much more compliant as she turned her key-clasped grip. Once inside, the Warden found it difficult to mask his instinctive disgusted glare at his surroundings. Everything looked so... Plain and ordinary. Not to mention he felt so cramped in such a small space.

He examined her belongings with intrigue, though simple they were. For the most part, she seemed to keep everything tidy enough. There was a bit of a mess by the couch he assumed served as her bed and a small pile of clothes by her bathroom.

"Who are you?" Penna asked as plainly as she could.

He thought for a minute, deciding how it would be best to answer.

"I am the Warden of SuperJail. Please, let me explain myself, hopefully this will make sense enough sooner or later."

Perhaps she hadn't caught what it was he said, which is why she remained silent. Or she hadn't yet processed the information. Either way, she allowed him to continue.

"Some months ago I built a time-machine- I am _very_ skilled with mechanics you see- and I set the destination to my future. There I met my future-self. He and I didn't exactly... _Get along_. I eventually met...you and-"

"Whoa, wait, hold on. How did I become involved with a warden of a jail?" Now it had sunk in it seemed, though she obviously possessed a heavy sense of doubt.

"Well... That is my first apology. You see I... He, _he_ captured you. My, err, _his_ plan was to enslave the entire world and you were just caught up in it. It was a stupid plan, you were right and I wouldn't have gotten back to my time if it weren't for your help."

At the time, he remembered, he didn't have much choice but to accept her help. Still, he had to admit it made a big difference. That look on his Future-self's face when he spotted the two of them about to take off had been absolutely priceless.

"Uh-huh. Right. Okay, you can leave now." She tiredly swept her hand toward the door, extending her finger in a haphazard point.

"N-no wait this is all true I swear!" His protest had been a little louder than he meant. He quickly looked behind him as though he feared someone would have heard.

"You also swore you'd leave the_ second_ I asked." She pointed again, this time far more displeased.

"Please just let me explain myself." He pleaded much quieter.

"No thank you and if you aren't out of my door in the next three seconds I am calling the police."

"Wait, Penna just listen to me."

"One."

"I'm trying to own up to a stupid mistake I haven't even done yet here."

"Two." She made a move over to a phone resting on an end-table.

"Penna, _seriously_ just hear me out!"

"Three-"

"I know about your ability!"

The sudden, shocking silence had been both crushing and deafening to the both of them.

"W-what?"

"I-I know what you can do. It's the reason he captured you, I think. I know all about it, you even did it to me once."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do, I can see it. Now will you hear me out?"

"How did you find out about that? Did my father send you?"

"What? No, no! I'm trying to tell you I've experienced it firsthand! Hell of a time that was, biggest headache I ever had."

"But I don't know you! I've never... Who _are_ you?"

"I'm telling you the truth! Future-me ordered you to confirm my identity when I arrived and you kind of tricked me into drugging myself so I'd fall asleep." He ended that last part with a tiny hint of accusation.

"That's how it works, right? They have to be asleep?"

He gave her some time to absorb his words as he gauged her reaction. It didn't look good, that was for sure. She didn't seem angry. Confused, yes absolutely.

"I don't believe any of this." She finally shook her head.

"I don't know who you are and... And I don't know how you found out about me. If you're here because of that, well all I can tell you is that I haven't used my... My ability in quite a long time. I-I don't even know if I can do it anymore."

"I'm positive you can, but I assure you it's not why I'm here."

"Why are you here then? As far as I understand, which isn't much given your highly unbelievable story; whatever happened between you and I or... Future-you or whoever, hasn't happened yet. And if I'm correct in assuming that the reason you came to my restaurant is to apologize for the thing that hasn't happened, assuring me that it won't happen. Am I on the right track, mister Warden?"

"Yes, essentially."

"Then why even bother at all? You know, when I woke up this morning I didn't once consider the chance of being confronted with this sort of nonsense by an eccentric in a purple suit! As far as I'm concerned, you coulda just left me be and I would have been none the wiser!"

"I realize this is all very upsetting, and I do apologize. I just felt I should try and make amends. I could... perhaps, offer you a job?"

"I _have_ a job."

"Yes. Of course." That glare she gave him had been enough to instill a shiver of fear.

"I understand if you can't believe me, but I am sorry. And feeling sorry is not something I'm used to feeling for anyone."

"Right. So. Do you have any sort of proof of this crap?"

She was going to ask for proof now? Well, it was certainly a lot better than having the authorities called on him.

"I... I might actually."

"You do?"

"Yes, just a moment." He patted himself a little before searching the pockets inside his coat. He coughed a few uncomfortable chuckles as it was proved difficult to find what he was looking for.

"Haha! Here it is! Recognize _this_?" He handed her a small folded paper, lightly crinkled but still legible.

"No." Penna growled a little, hardly glancing at the hurriedly-drawn sketch of an elaborate contraption with notes and measurements scribbled all around it.

"That is my time machine. Flip the page over, you'll see."

She obliged, but not without a scowl and a snarl.

"This... It looks like my handwriting." Now she examined the document carefully, her eyes scanned every little detail as tried to determine whether this was in fact her writing or not.

She began to read aloud, her voice a little broken from her overwhelming confusion.

"_'Subject is put under anesthetics for approximately ten m-minutes. Subject's mind is f-frail and shows little evidence of accepting new past. Subject died shortly a-after memories were removed.'_"

The Warden nodded several times. "You see?"

"But I..."

"Now do you believe me?"

"N-no! This could have easily been forged!"

"Oh c'mon, you honestly think that? I have never seen anyone with atrocious penmanship as this!"

"It... I... But it says I took out his memories. Th-that's impossible! I-I can't do anything like that."

"You can't? I thought... But here you could. That was your job."

"And you want me to come with you to do this, huh?"

"No, no. Forget about the job offer. It was a stupid idea, you're right."

"What else did I do then if you know everything about me."

"You, well... You helped me get back to my time. I don't think I would have made it if it weren't for you."

"See, there, now I really don't believe it. Why would I help you?"

"Because we were... Friends? Of a sort."

"But you captured me. And 'enslaved' me."

"Not me, Future-me."

"What's the difference?"

"The _difference_ is I'm trying to make sure history doesn't repeat itself! I'm looking out for you, as absurd as it sounds."

"This isn't the way to go about it! Why would you think I would even want to be told all of this? It doesn't make any sense to me why you're even here at all!"

"Maybe I just wanted to see you again."

"I'm having a hard time believing that I'd want to see you. Past, present or future."

The Warden slumped a little in his stance, though he quickly shook it off. He tried to think of how to respond, unable to come up with anything to break the chilling and hostile atmosphere.

The two of them remained silent for several minutes.

"What did he do, exactly?" Penna asked, half serious in her tone, although she made the disbelieving side of her question the more apparent one.

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes, I think it will help me figure out just how insane you really are."

"Allow me to say first, Penna that if you had not done what you did to save yourself, I would not have... There is no easy way to go about saying this... He would have thanked you for adding to his armies. I am going to thank you for aiding my escape."

"What happened." Her foot began to tap.

"He tortured you, that's how he found out what you can do."

"Uh-huh. Again, any proof? Got another piece of paper in that jacket of yours?"

"Well... Um... He had a name for you. He called you Howl. I still am unsure why, but that's what they all called you."

"That proves nothing."

"What if... Okay, how about this."

"When you sedated me, my dream at first seemed like a normal dream. Then, I felt like I was being pulled along past all these doors that had scenes in them. They were my memories. I didn't know what was going on and I felt like I had no control over what was pulling me along. And when I woke up, I was covered in blood."

"That..."

"Can you do that?"

"Yes..."

"Now do you believe me?"

"I... It still doesn't prove anything."

"It sure as hell does! What's it going to take for you to believe me?"

"I dunno! Where's this _'Super'_ jail?"

"Would you like me to take you there?"

"No. Where is it?"

"It's pretty far away, I do enjoy it's remote area immensely. Y-You're saying you've never heard of it? Are you sure? It's the largest and grandest, most super jail there is!"

"Yeah, not ringing any bells."

She might not have realized it then, but she was doing a very good job of keeping his inflated ego wounded.

"Tell me honestly now, how did you find out about me?"

"Every word I said was the truth. If you want, you can knock me out right now and see for yourself."

"Oh really? Great! Hold still while I find something to hit you with."

"N-no wait! Kidding! I was kidding!"

"I wasn't. Which would you prefer?" She held out both of her empty hands as to symbolize his options.

"Frying pan or tire-iron?"

"You are just as stubborn as ever! I'm only trying to help you out and this is the thanks I get?"

Perhaps it was just a quick flash of instinct, or a flash of anger, he didn't really know what exactly came over him. The grip he had on her arms wasn't tight enough to cause her discomfort, just enough to keep her place. Of course it hadn't exactly been the gentlest kiss he had ever given. Even so, it hadn't struck him as odd that she wasn't resisting. At least not immediately.

After a few excruciatingly long seconds he pulled away. And just as he was about to plant a second one, he found his head had suddenly turned very abruptly to the left; a searing jolt burned his cheek and his glasses had become askew. His right ear started to ring in a high shrill that had momentarily stunned him.

Penna's hand remained positioned in the air and had already begun to redden around her palm. She wore a very mixed expression, mostly composed of anger and perhaps even a little fright.

"I'm not going to ask you again," She said calmly, but ever so fierce. "_Get out._"

The Warden felt his stinging cheek as he looked her over with a certain kind of shock. That had actually hurt, he mused within himself.

In the corner of his mouth that hadn't begun to swell, a smirk started to grow.

"Very well," He nodded, tipping his hat and setting his glasses right. "I'll leave now."

He made his way to her door, turning the handle slow enough to annoy her further. She followed, stepping forward to coax him out. She quickly grabbed the knob as soon as he reached the hall.

"But you almost kissed me back there for a second."

The sharp slam that seemed to shake the very frame of the door was her reply, followed by a light click of a lock.


	4. Sessions

When was this going to end? Clearly not soon enough. She could feel the force of each tremor in her pounding heart crushing her already fragile mind. Sweat had long kept her eyes sealed shut, though she could clearly envision the corners of his mouth turn into a sickening grin past her own heavy, tired panting.  
Her body felt as though it were on fire, despite the deliberately-chilled slab they had her strapped to. The trail of blood leaking from her nose to the soiled bib they had pinned to her gown had become noticeably thickened over the endless hours that struggled to crawl by. And with each exhausted protest as her experimenter dove yet another series of wires into her flesh to monitor her progress, she refused to scream. At least while in a conscious state.

_"__Again, Howl."_The intrigued voice beyond the intercom commanded. The man to which it belonged allowed a deep chuckle escape into the static before lifting his finger from the button.

She ground her teeth, choking back the tears that persistently burned. As the command had been given, another nameless captive was wheeled in, arms and legs chained to a sterling stretcher. They never arrived already unconscious for her, oh no, she had to wait for the Doctor to put them out. He relished in it as well; humming a disgustingly-clotted tune in his throat, taking an excruciating amount of time to bask in their panic. She couldn't tell which of the two were having the most fun.

This one, thankfully, seemed to have lost his ability to speak out of fear, only able to mutter incomprehensible whispers as he was rolled right alongside her; she was beginning to grow tired of hearing the same series of questions rambled from her fellow lab-rats and for an instant, she was about to ask that they hurry this along. A very pointed surge across her temples quickly dissipated this thought, however. How many more were they going to send in for her? Surely by now they must have run out of prisoners.

The Doctor, finally injecting the anesthetic into the proper vein as he had for the umpteenth time this evening, quickly scurried across the lab to examine an array of monitors, each flashing a different, brightly-colored and extraordinarily complex reading of the Interrogator and her newest, now-unconscious subject.

"You may be'gin vhen rheady," he coughed, flicking a switch that sent a needle-like current into her skull from the discs glued to either side of her forehead.

She wasn't going to scream.

_'Concentrate on the task at hand, not going to scream. Not going to scream. Never going to give _him_ the satisfaction.'_

Finding this transparent shred of solace in the Warden's frustration at her succession in remaining calm granted her heavy breathing a moment to shallow, slowly beginning to match the pace of her sleeping neighbor. Soon, but not without considerable effort, she found herself able to push out the distractions around her, the sounds of their breath in unison becoming the only echo in her mind.

The connection was just beyond her grasp, only a few seconds more and-

_"__What is _taking_ you _so long_, Howl? I should think you'd be able to do this lickity-split by now!"_

Her eyes flew open, though before she could search around to fire a glare in the direction of the grotesquely-smug voice, the current fed into her jolted at the abrupt halt of her focus, forcing them shut once again.

She swallowed past the blood caking her searing throat, her cracked lips splintering into a crooked smile.

"I like to- take my time- _practicing_- how I'm going to- kill you." She managed to creak an encrusted laugh before attempting to regather her strength.

"Now, _if _you'll- excuse me."

She didn't have much longer before the anesthetic wore off, and were that to happen before she could complete the second step, her subject's mind would be of no use. He would still make her kill him regardless, if he had not already died in the process.

Another half hour passed by, another glimpse at a connection, this one surprisingly visible to her beyond a quivering body and nearly-shattered mind. It was right there in front of her, a door amidst the protective darkness blanketing the poor man's thoughts. She could just about touch it, and reaching out as far as her fingers would stretch, she opened it.

As soon as her fingertips connected with the fabricated wood, the blackness instantly gave way into swirling cascades of images and voices, each one as beautifully intricate as the next. Everything the young man had experienced in his life, even what his subconscious was sketching now were as particles floating in a beam of light, she only had to glance at one and in that second, his interpretation was sprawled before her, she could even pluck it right from the current in which it flowed, and place it in any of the streams she came across. She had arranged an eternity's worth of lives this way.

Waving her palm to flit past the dust-like clouds containing his childhood, adolescence, and young-adulthood, she happened upon something rather interesting.

In the outside world of her current tangible reality, rapid reflections gleamed from amber glasses covering a maniacal expression of glee as the Warden glazed over the images displayed on his screen. He glanced through the one-way mirror, counting down the seconds until her will to keep silent broke. Already her face had begun to contort in agony.

Because she had no need to write down what she saw in these particular 'sessions' as they were called, she could put all of her effort into separating each memory, rather than expending a portion of her trance to command her hand to record her visions.

She paused, holding a speck of the man's life between her pinched fingers, and upon examining it, she found this to be the man's dream of something tearing through his thoughts; a ravenous, deep-red and eye-less creature with elongated, jagged limbs, each ending in a set of hooked, royal-blue claws howling cries enough to instil the fear of excruciating death from sound alone as it dug and shred through the man's dream-self.

She could feel a warm sensation trickling from her nose; her time was running out.

In that moment, the speck she held crackled for a split-second, then burst into thousands of sparkling shards that disappeared into the darkness behind; the image before her of the deep-red creature and it's shrieks had become a silent canvas of white, perfect to paint something new onto. She touched another speck, the same happened again. Contact from her fingertips to the particles enacted waves of tiny explosions, each disintegrating into nothingness, and each leaving in their place a vast expansion of pristine, sterile surfaces.

She paused again, feeling herself cry out in pain, though she had not made a sound. There was no time left to break her trance and rest a moment, though she was in great need of it. She had to fill this hollow with an entirely new life before the empty shell next to her own gently-seizing body awoke. Could she possibly manage this in one take? Especially after the countless hours they had already been working her; she could feel exhaustion tormenting her physical form outside her concentration, and hear the resulting gasps, though she could do no more to hold them back than she already had.

Placing a gentle touch onto the clean surface of the man's mind, a bright and vivid explosion of color and noise swept across its surface, expanding and expanding until it reached the end of the memory and those relating around it, covering corner to corner with one fabricated experience out of hundreds. This particular memory was the most vital of all; the young man's unabashed decision to serve the Warden in his cause.

Her stomach wretched.

Playfully twisting a dial to adjust the incoming volume, the Warden gleamed at the sight of her slowly-breaking body. How long would it take her this time to give him the pleading he had so desperately been trying to rip from her? Noting the time on the clock, they had been at this for a little less than nine hours. Had he not grown to be so beside himself at her silent persistence, he would have abandoned this frivolous task not minutes after it began.

_'Hurry up, Penna...'_She whispered against a wall of white.

In her haste to finish within the rapidly-diminishing time allotted to her, she had completed more than half of this never-ending chore, though the sharp gasping for release echoing from the outside had begun to sound more like the hollow breathing of the howling creature. Even in her trance she was beginning to feel the weight of her expended body dragging her pace down. This was not good. She only needed to place a few more, just a few more and she was done. With this one, at least.

_'You're almost done... don't scream. You can't. Don't even dare.'_

She outstretched her hand, finding the distance between herself and the memory-less sheet to be unbearably un-reachable. She inched closer, and that much further did it seem to float away. Her focus was slipping, and she could now hear not only her struggle to remain quiet on the outside, her subject's cacophonous attempts at self-preservation we're beginning to break through her trance-induced barrier. If she followed this any farther, she could risk the ability to break herself free.

_'Not yet...'_

Propping his feet on his desk, the Warden sighed complacently, twisting the dial as he had earlier to fill his room with the bellow erupting from his caustic, pathetic Interrogator. Nearly ten hours he had been watching this, a little longer than he would have liked, but oh did he find her faulty defiance amusing.

Within every form of herself, both her mental projection and her physical body could she feel his smile burn into her flesh from behind his safe little window. The canvas she had fruitlessly been chasing suddenly disappeared, and all around her, those she had implanted new memories onto quickly followed. The sea of brand-new colors and voices were soon swallowed up by the blackness that had once protected them, one right after the other. There was nothing she could do to stop this, the man's mind had finally collapsed. And if she couldn't wake herself soon, she too would be consumed as well.

A screen monitoring the man's heart had begun screeching frantically, his body continued to seize out of nervous reaction to the intrusion. Penna's face had become as white as the walls she created her masterpieces onto, apart from the darkening river of blood freely flowing from her nose. Her arms and legs fought to break loose from the restraints holding her to the slab, though her thrashing could not be heard over the sound of her chilling pleas of release.

_'Wake me up... You still need me... Wake me up you bastard! This is what you wanted, now wake me up!'_

The Doctor arose from his seat and casually sauntered his way to the tray containing various anesthetics, tranquilizers and smelling-salts.

_"I do not believe she is finished yet, Doctor."_

"Herr, ve should prhobably rhevive her soon; she has lost q'vite a lot of blood." The aging physician commented halfheartedly, offering a shrug of his shoulders.

_"She is _not_ finished yet, _Doctor._"_

_ 'Wake me up... Wake me up...' _The darkness crept closer and closer to her, and there was nowhere safe to run in the dying prison holding her captive.

Her lips formed a single, hushed word as her body froze. "_P...lease."_

_ "Now, she is finished, Doctor."_

The Doctor uncorked a vial of rosy-pink, potently-powerful gravel and held it arm's-length under Penna's nose. In seconds, her eyes flew open. She collapsed onto the slab, overcome with an insatiable need to inhale gulps of air, not caring if they were harsh and burning her already scorched throat.

_"My, my goodness Howl, that was _quite_ a performance. Shall we try again?"_


End file.
